<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Bad Things Come in Threes by NoblestRomanOfThemAll (AnxiouslyGoing)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437321">Bad Things Come in Threes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxiouslyGoing/pseuds/NoblestRomanOfThemAll'>NoblestRomanOfThemAll (AnxiouslyGoing)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Found Family AU [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bullying Mention, Human Sides (Sanders Sides), Teen!Virgil, fight not depicted, mentions of a fight in chapter two, non-graphic depiction of an anxiety attack in chapter 3, selectively mute!janus, teen!Janus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:41:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,652</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437321</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxiouslyGoing/pseuds/NoblestRomanOfThemAll</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They say bad things come in threes. Of course this is just a saying due to the human nature to seek out patterns. There's even a direct antonym that says good things come in threes. But this time, Logan and the rest of the family find themselves wondering just how accurate the first phrase might be.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Found Family AU [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>97</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The First: Stolen Goods and Loss of Words</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I need to tell you guys something." Virgil shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He stood on the kitchen threshold, not wanting to make eye contact with either guardian. </p><p>"Has something happened?" Logan prompted. </p><p>Virgil nodded and continued the staring contest with his shoes. They were dusty and at one point the rubber was pulling away from the rest of the shoe. Old as they were, they were the most comfortable-</p><p>"Virge?" He glanced up at Patton's voice. "What's goin' on, kiddo?" </p><p>"Someone asked me why I don't have Pityriasis Versicolor like Janus. They...wanted to know why I hadn't 'caught it' yet. And a couple of days ago someone asked if I wore makeup to hide it, and why Janus didn't. And today his gloves and sunglasses went missing and now he's not talking. I mean, it happens sometimes, but it's always bad when it does and usually, he still talks to me, but he's not now and...I don't know what to do." </p><p>"You did the right thing telling us about it," Patton assured. He took the towel he'd been using to dry dishes from his shoulder and hung it off the handle on the oven door then sat at the table, motioning for Virgil to join him. "Y'know how we talked about some of the stuff you wanted us to know about when it came to your anxiety? This is part of Janus's." </p><p>Logan slipped out of the room as Virgil hopped onto the counter. He was more than confident in Patton’s ability to explain Selective Mutism to Virgil and made his way upstairs. </p><p>-----</p><p>Logan tapped lightly on the door before stepping inside. Janus was still crouched on the floor, knees to his chest, head buried in his arms. Logan sat beside him and for a long moment, they sat in silence. </p><p>"Before anything else, I want you to know that I understand that you are not <em>choosing </em>not to speak. I understand that this is something that you cannot control; I understand that it is distressing and that that distress only worsens the way you feel. I imagine...that it has been your unfortunate experience that you've been rebuked and punished for this. I imagine this because it was <em>my </em>experience. Being autistic something I experience is what is often called a nonverbal shutdown. Like you, I lose my capability to speak. Before I had the vocabulary to explain this phenomenon, I was often scolded or punished for 'refusing to speak'. Janus, we are never going to do that to you. I understand that this state is brought on by anxiety. It isn't something you're choosing, but it is something I would like to help with. When you're feeling better, we can sit down and discuss some ideas to lessen your anxieties. I know you need to rest, but I felt it important to talk to you about this. I can remember dreading what might happen to me if something were to happen that took away my words, and I don't want that for you. You can take all the time you need to feel better. If you need anything, write it down and we will do our best to help you. And to be clear, it's okay if your speech only comes back a little at a time. When I was younger there were times when I could speak to Roman, but everyone else was much more difficult to speak to. It's okay if you need Virgil's help to speak for you. We <em>will</em> still listen to you, I promise." </p><p>Janus barely leaned over, just so he was leaning slightly against Logan's arm. </p><p>"You can tell me no, but would it be alright for me to put my arm around you?" </p><p>Janus nodded just a little and fell further into Logan's side as he moved his arm around Janus's shoulders. "You are cared for here, Janus. We love you. And we want to do whatever is in our power to help you."</p><p>“Promise you’re not lying,” Janus spoke quietly. </p><p>“What?” </p><p>“Promise me you’re not lying,” he said again, his chest heaving a little as he spoke. “That you’re not just saying things to make me feel better or- promise that you mean it.” </p><p>“I cannot promise that I will always know how to handle these types of situations, Janus. It wouldn’t be fair of me to you if I did so. That said, I can promise to always do my best to be understanding of them. And I promise that you <em>are </em>wanted here. It can be easy to become convinced when difficult situations arise, that you are not wanted or a burden. But those things will never be true. And I mean it when I say we love you and we want to do what we can to help you.” </p><p>“I want to stay here.” </p><p>Logan smiled softly as Janus leaned his head into his shoulder. “We’d all like that. How are you feeling?” </p><p>Janus shrugged self-consciously then quickly sat up when a knock came at the door. Logan took the cue and pulled his arm back just before Patton and Virgil came into the room. The latter of the two came and dropped onto the floor next to Janus in a heap of gangly limbs. </p><p>“Are you okay?” </p><p>“I’m working on it,” Janus answered without looking at Virgil.</p><p>“Cool, so I can say this without feeling too badly.” Virgil cleared his throat, “You’re a moron. I’ve known you for two years now, dude. I know about all your other issues, don’t you think I’d help you with the mutism thing?” </p><p>“Bold words coming from the kid who slept with a flashlight before telling me he was scared of the dark.” </p><p>“Yeah, that’s fair,” Virgil agreed. “But for real. No more not telling stuff. Deal?” </p><p>Janus nodded. “Agreed.” </p><p>"Guess that's one way to do that," Patton muttered and offered a hand to Logan before tugging him to his feet. "Virgil's right though, Janus. We're here all here for you." </p><p>"I know. I'm...working on it," he amended.</p><p>"It takes time," Patton agreed. "And that's okay. We'll be here when you're ready."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Second: A Black Eye and a Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Virgil is rarely impetuous. But the one time he is it starts a ball rolling that may be difficult to stop.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Admittedly, Janus wasn't sure what exactly had happened. One moment some jock had been hovering over him, questioning if his "patches" were contagious, the next Virgil was scrambling to his feet to stand between the two and the jock was in shock on the floor. There was an eruption of fists and Janus had to fight to get Virgil away from upperclassmen that were all nearly twice their size. </p><p>He doubted if it would make a difference that Virgil, ill-advised as he may have been, was trying to defend him as they sat in the office waiting for Patton to come get them. </p><p>"Are you boys alright?" Patton questioned, hugging each of the boys in turn. </p><p>"We're fine, Patt," Virgil assured. It might have been more convincing had he not been sporting a black eye. </p><p>"What happened?" </p><p>Before either could answer the principal stepped into the hallway. "Mr. Spencer," the principal spoke as he came forward. "I've already discussed that with the boys. If I could have a word with you in my office?" </p><p>"This won't take long," Patton promised and followed the other man into the next room. </p><p>"Mr. Spencer, this is the second altercation your students have been in almost as many weeks. The first one, thankfully, did not get physical, but after today I felt obligated to speak to you about our school's anti-bully policy." </p><p>"Y'know, I've been meaning to ask about that." Patton wagged his finger thoughtfully. "Explain how that works." </p><p>"It is a zero-tolerance policy-" </p><p>"See. <em>That's</em> where I'm confused," Patton cut in with an unnerving, serene smile. "Because it seems like to me that the only time my boys are getting into trouble is after someone's been making fun of them. Which is really odd to me especially since we've had several documented parent-teacher conferences about Virgil's treatment by his peers. And I'm pretty sure I remember having a discussion with the school's counselor last week because of a nonverbal shutdown that Janus went into two weeks ago that turned out to be from someone stealing his sunglasses and gloves. </p><p>"So I'm sure you can see why I'm confused here. I mean, I'd <em>like </em>to believe there's a no-bullying policy, but if there were I feel like you'd probably be talking to a different dad. The other kid's dad, I mean," he clarified quickly. "Not Logan. He doesn't like to go by that." Patton shook his head. "Look. The point is you can <em>say </em>you have a no bully policy all you want. But I just don't believe it." </p><p>"Virgil physically attacked another student!" </p><p>"I'm sure he did," Patton agreed. "But here's the thing, even though <em>you </em>didn't feel the need to let us know about the verbal altercation, Virgil and Janus did. So we know about the other students trying to interrogate Janus about his Vitiligo and about the rumors they're trying to spread about him. And unless something has been done to curb that," he shrugged. "I just don't see how I can buy into this whole 'zero tolerance' policy. Because all I'm hearing right now is that Virgil stepped in to defend Janus since no one else would." Patton came to his feet with a smile. "Just to let you know, I am going to be documenting this meeting for social services. Have a good day!" And with that he left the room, leaving the administrator flabbergasted. </p><p>-----</p><p>"Yeah, come in," Virgil sighed when tapping came at his door. </p><p>"Are you alright?" Logan asked as he came into the room. </p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine," Virgil rolled his eyes. "It's not as bad as Patt made it sound." </p><p>He leaned against the desk. "I'm sorry I wasn't there-" </p><p>"Look, I know you're the oldest, and Patton kinda does the whole dad bit, but you don't have to so it's fine." </p><p>Logan nodded. "I wouldn't pretend to be your father. But you <em>are </em>still family. And I still want to be there when things go wrong. Let me see." He lifted Virgil's chin and glanced over the bruised eye and swollen lip. "Have you taken anything for the swelling?" </p><p>Virgil nodded. "The nurse at school gave me some ibuprofen." </p><p>"Good. Virgil, I appreciate that you want to protect Janus, but what you did was dangerous. Had there not been others there to intervene you both could have been seriously injured." </p><p>"I know." </p><p>"I trust that this won't happen again, but. If it does, duck and throw the second punch next time." </p><p>Virgil's head snapped up and he stared up at Logan somewhere between confused and impressed. "What-" </p><p>"I said, I trust this won't be happening again," Logan repeated, with a more stern look this time. </p><p>"It won't," the teen agreed. </p><p>"Good." Logan pushed himself off the desk and patted Virgil's shoulder as he left the room. "I heard that was a strong left hook." </p><p>----</p><p>"Patton, what's wrong?" Logan asked as he came back down the stairs. </p><p>"They want to send a new social worker," Patton answered hollowly, "because of the fight." </p><p>Logan went still, dread began curling in his chest. He stood frozen for a long moment before nodding. "Alright. Alright, we- we will treat this the same as any home visit." </p><p>"What if they take the boys?" </p><p>Logan held out his arms and Patton all but fell into the hug. "Then we fight to get them back," he answered determinedly. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Third: Follow-up and an Anxiety Attack</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It was his fault. He was sure it was. Someone was coming to take Janus away from them and it was all his fault.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil stood in the shadows at the top of the stairs, watching intently from behind the banister as the new social worker introduced herself and Logan gestured for her to sit on the couch. Quietly as he could he crept halfway down the stairs, trying to better hear what was being said. </p><p>"It's my understanding that the boys have been having some difficulty at school recently?" Marjorie asked. </p><p>"Yes. They were both involved in a physical altercation with a few other students two days ago. Virgil saw one of the upperclassmen standing over Janus and made a move to defend him that ended in a fight," Logan explained. </p><p>"But this was not the first incident?" </p><p>"No. It was the third." </p><p>"And may I ask what is being done about these situations?" </p><p>Logan took a steadying breath. "We are discussing options about his classes with the counselor, another option we have started to look into is changing schools or alternative schooling." </p><p>"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do here. But I am concerned these things may not be enough. If Janus-</p><p>"You can't take him!" </p><p>Patton caught ahold of Virgil as he came tearing down the stairs. "Whoa! Virgil,-" </p><p> "It was my fault, ok? It was my fault and you shouldn't take him away because of me. Take me away, ok?" </p><p>"Virge, it's okay, kiddo," Patton tried to soothe the teen. "No one's going anywhere tonight-" </p><p>Virgil shook his head, hot tears started down his reddening cheeks. "He needs to be here. It was my fault," he sobbed again. "Don't punish everyone else b'cause of me. You can't take him away. It's not his fault. I won't do it again, I swear-" </p><p>"Virgil, you need to sit down." Logan helped keep the pair stable while Patton sat on the floor. "I'll be right back," he promised before striding off to the kitchen. Patton rocked Virgil gently and seemed to be running him through a grounding exercise. </p><p>Marjorie watched the scene before her, dumbfounded; Janus had only been in their care a few months, but already there was a clear bond.</p><p>Logan knelt next to Virgil and kept his voice calm and level. "I have your weighted shoulder wrap, I'm going to put it on you now." He waited a beat to give Virgil time to process before following through with the action.  </p><p>"What's going on?" Janus questioned from the foot of the stairs. </p><p>"It's alright, kiddo," Patton answered. "Virgil just had a panic attack." </p><p>Virgil reached out to him as Janus neared and he let the younger teen pull him into a hug. </p><p>"I'm sorry," he hiccupped. "I didn't mean to mess everything up-" </p><p>"You didn't, Virge," Janus assured him. </p><p>"I just wanted them to leave you alone." </p><p>"I know. I know, Virge, it's ok. I need you to breathe now, ok? Take a deep breath for me." Janus inhaled deeply and Virgil followed suit. "One more time. There. How are you feeling?" </p><p>"I don't want them to take you away." </p><p>"No one is leaving, Virgil," Marjorie assured softly. She stood and Logan was on his feet almost before she was, blocking her view of the three on the floor. "I think it's probably best if we reschedule this meeting," she commented, trying to glance behind Logan. He stepped sideways to block her view. "Yes, I think that's a good idea. Thank you for understanding." Logan walked her to the door and for a moment stood watching his brothers huddle around one another.</p><p>The thought that he could have lost two of them was..overwhelming. Twice now he had been separated from his family. If bad things truly came in threes- Logan shook his head. He had also been reunited with Patton since then, and Patton with Virgil. He knelt by his little family and wrapped as many of them as he could in a hug. They would be alright. They would stay together and they would be alright. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A Special Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Tell me more about them."</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Virgil had a panic attack during the visit today." Thomas's head snapped up from his paperwork. "He's okay now," Marjorie assured. "He thought I was there to take Janus. He wanted me to take him instead. He said it wouldn't be fair to take Janus because the fight was his fault and Janus needed a home more than he did.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I've never seen a group bond that quickly." </p><p>"They're a special family," Thomas agreed softly. </p><p>She sat across his desk. "Tell me more about them." </p><p>"Roman and Remus were actually the first to come to us," Thomas answered and pulled out a file from the desk drawer. "As crazy as it sounds, they were left in a basket on the orphanage steps with their first names safety pinned to them. We were able to track down the mother from hospital records but were never able to make contact with her. Unfortunately, the twins were separated when they were three years old. Roman was taken into a home and Remus left here. </p><p>"Logan and Patton came to us next, half brothers, six and five, found sitting on a bus stop bench in the middle of the day. When they were asked about their parents they said that their mother was supposed to come back and they were going on a trip together. We were able to make contact with an aunt, but she declined guardianship and they were placed in an orphanage. When they were nine and eight they were placed into separate homes. </p><p>"That was the same year Virgil came to us." He took out another file. "He was three and the sole survivor of a car wreck. He was placed into the same home as Patton initially, but the family found that having two children with special needs- Virgil due to trauma, both physical and emotional, Patton because of his learning disabilities- was too much and returned Virgil to the orphanage. </p><p>Logan was placed in the same home as Roman. He was a few years older and calmer so the parents hoped it would help Roman calm down a little, by this time he'd been diagnosed with ADHD, and was a bit of a handful.</p><p>"Janus was... he had to be removed from the home. A teacher reported signs of neglect and when the family was followed up on they found that he was suffering from malnutrition.</p><p>"Remus was finally placed into a foster care home and that same year Logan was moved into a new home that was looking more seriously into adoption. Roman began acting out after he left and was returned to our care. Remus ran away when he was ten and has run away from every home since. We still don't know for sure where he is. </p><p>"We were finally able to get Janus into a home, but his medical conditions made things difficult. The family returned him to our care when one of their other kids started complaining that Janus was making them sick. It didn't matter how much the doctors tried to explain that his conditions were not contagious; they didn't want him in the home anymore. He's mostly stayed in the orphanage since. Roman and Virgil both bounced around some, but most people don't want hyper-active kids or kids with 'emotional issues' and Virgil was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder when he was fairly young. They've spent a lot of time in orphanages. </p><p>"Logan was diagnosed with autism the year following his move, the family kept him, but wouldn't adopt him. </p><p>"The first thing he did when he aged out was ask about Patton and Roman. He wanted to adopt them as soon as he possibly could. I worked with him to find housing and a job, and by that time Patton was also of age and moved in with Logan. He immediately started making inquiries about taking in Virgil. He was in a group home at the time and was eager to move back in with Patton, but he didn't want to leave Janus behind. </p><p>"They didn't even hesitate. They immediately wanted him too. We were still trying to track down which home Roman was in at the time, but they still fought to get Janus into their care. Patton even signed him and Logan up for parenting classes outside of what had been required to be licensed so they could properly take care of these two kids and all their trauma. </p><p>"It's only been recently that we were finally able to track down Roman, he's...had some struggles lately. I haven't told Logan this, but there is some concern for Roman's health and the school has made a report against the family. Anyway, Logan actually nearly got into a fight with someone who said he was brave to take in a kid like Roman. They were only together a couple of years when they were kids, but the way Logan talked about finding him you'd never know they weren't really related. I mean, you hear stories about these kids aging out and staying together when they're older, but I've never seen any of them this desperate to find foster siblings that sometimes were only with them a few months. </p><p>"These kids... they <em>need </em>each other. Roman has just over a year before he ages out and Logan is already working to officially adopt him. It might not even get through before he hits eighteen, but it doesn't matter. He'd rather put in the work and it not happen than just brush it off as 'he'll be eighteen soon so it doesn't matter', they're already family, they just wanna make it official." </p><p>"What about Remus?" </p><p>Thomas shrugged, almost helplessly. "I haven't been able to track him down yet. There are some conflicts with the files we have on him because he’s run away several times and given a different name almost every time. It helps that he and Roman are what's called mirror-image twins, and they have complete heterochromia, so where Roman has a right green eye and left blue, Remus has a left green and a right blue. They both also have poliosis, which is a white streak through their hair. So that does narrow it down, but the paperwork is...spotty at best." </p><p>"What can I do to help?" </p><p>Thomas gave a crooked smile. “How are you at building timelines?” </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter was the very first thing I ever wrote for this AU. I've had to more or less build up and around this point which has been a challenge because I really feel like this chapter sets a lot of the ground work for the AU as a whole. But. My muse is a stubborn and fickle creature so this chapter has remained largely the same as the day I wrote in an inspired haze on my phone. So really, you can think of this as the end of the prelude to the rest of the story. Hopefully soon we'll have a few more players join us on stage.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>